Congratulations to new Leader of the Labour Party Andy Burnham, and from last Monday, our Prime Minister. I wish him the very best of luck in leading our country forward to the brightest future possible.
I was one of those who supported him not just now, but last time he stood for the leadership in 2015. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then!
I was also delighted to hear the news that John Healey has been appointed as the next Chancellor of the Exchequer.
John will be exceptional, a man of deep principle and the epitome of a responsible and prudent Parliamentarian. I warmly congratulate him and wish him well.
I remember some years ago, when he visited Crawley to see some of the substantial amount of new council housing that had been recently delivered, and I was pleased to show him as the council’s former Cabinet Member for Housing.
Everything Andy Burnham has said in taking office fills me with strong optimism for the future, because he is setting out a real vision for our country that will change it for the better, and is unmistakably Labour.
There is a new emphasis because it is all about devolving powers based on his own experiences of delivering it in Manchester, and trusting local people to deliver that real change themselves in their own areas.
While there has been a lot of words before now giving that decentralising narrative from others, I didn’t always think the actions of central Government were quite matching those words, or displaying the same enthusiasm.
One of the most heartening developments, for me at least, has been his recent announcement on council housing. I pay close attention to these matters and this is the first time I have seen it so pointed towards building council housing, successive governments up until now had always spoken of “social housing”, keeping it deliberately more open to housing associations, arguably over councils.
I believe councils are inherently better placed with a ringfenced housing account and ability to raise funding for building works, or creating their own in-house construction companies, over housing associations who have always been too risk averse for my liking and have recently indicated plans for relatively modest numbers of additional social homes.
The key difference is that overriding connection to place. Councils like us here at Crawley Borough Council who retained our council housing stock are much more likely to invest in marginally viable schemes as they have a direct benefit for the community they lead.
For housing associations and other social registered providers, it will be business case led, and they will have a duty first to choose the one that benefits them as an organisation.
I hope Homes England will back up this approach by the Prime Minister. I say, give us councils the tools to do the job and we will do it. We will largely utilise existing brownfield sites within the Borough without overdevelopment, or reducing the green and pleasant character of our town, all in line with our agreed Local Plan.
Crawley has a housing emergency – there are 2,500 households with a local connection on the council’s waiting list and many hundreds trapped in temporary accommodation.
Even if we were to build that 1,000 council homes we aspire to with national support (and that is a larger target than would have been realistic before this Government), that clearly still wouldn’t help everyone. And it would still take some years to achieve as many are still not ready to start work, or fully through planning, or even yet designed.
Andy Burnham and his new Cabinet have to pick up many problems but for me, this is one of the highest priorities needed.
Cllr Michael Jones
Leader, Crawley Borough Council